Topic: Nickspicks: Marantz PMD660 w/Oade ACMod review

[Nick's Picks]

http://www.nickspicks.com/

[Chuck]

Good work as always Nick!

[leehookem]

nice job.  I really want to get my hands on one and check it out.

+T

[spyder9]

God, I'd love to get one of these.  Ratdog 9-02-2005 definitely convinced me that the 660 a killer all-in-one 16 bit box.  I wonder if the 661 (24 bit) will debut next year.

[Nick's Picks]

so sell your ua5>jb3 combo.  kick in a couple hundred.  viola!  major upgrade.

[silentmark]

So there is no line in with the Oade mod ?

[ehren]

so sell your ua5>jb3 combo.  kick in a couple hundred.  viola!  major upgrade.

Although a very good sound, from the one show I've heard, I wouldn't want to speculate that the ACM 660 is automatically better sounding than a BM2 mod UA5. Considering that the UA5 does 24 bit, it might actually not be an upgrade. If we're comparing 16 bit to 16 bit then it might sound better, but without a true comp it's hard to know that.

+T for the review.

[neutrino]

Nick-
Where's the Oade modded R1 review? It seems like the R1 has been sorely overlooked due to its lack of spdif input, but IMHO is a much better alternative to the MT2496 for "line in" tapers.
dB- 

[aberg]

I was very close to buying this unit last month. It was a tossup between the 660 and the MP-2>R-1. The MP-2>R-1 setup ended up costing $50 more, but I think with 24bit capability and the ability to power for longer (MP-2 can go over 50 hours on my 9v walmart, and the R-1 can go 6-7 hours on x2 2500mah NiMH's), I made the right choice (for now). Now that I've got Neumann's, the test will be whether the MP-2 is too warm for them. If so, I might opt for the 660 if 16bit is fine for me. I like that your review used Neumann's, and you enjoyed the sound. Transparency with these mics is definitely a plus. Thanks for the review!

[Nick's Picks]

where is the R1 review?
someone lend me one for a month or two, and i'll review it.

[aberg]

where is the R1 review?
someone lend me one for a month or two, and i'll review it.

Sorry, I was referring to your 660 review.

[d5]

Nice review Nick! +t

[tfs8271]

So there is no line in with the Oade mod ?

Correct, no line in or internal mics.

Good thing to know when getting a 660. I was scratching my head and actually went out and bought a external battery and found this thread that day. I took the battery back and I'm running NiMH AA instead. More compact.

http://taperssection.com/index.php?topic=55029.0

Nick did you find this problem? I want to contact Doug about this, so he can tell others. I kept thinking I was doing something wrong charging my NiMHs.

[Nick's Picks]

I did read it.
I dont consider it a problem w/the Marantz.  just that the NiMH batteries are not all the same size. 
all alkalines seem to be the same size as they were never a problem.

IMO, if you are running *any* flavor UA5 > Jb3 at 16bit, then the 660 is an upgrade.  UNLESS you like the Wmod sound w/your mics and have fallen into perfect synergy. 

the 660 is to dye for.

[tfs8271]

I did read it.
I dont consider it a problem w/the Marantz.  just that the NiMH batteries are not all the same size. 
all alkalines seem to be the same size as they were never a problem.

IMO, if you are running *any* flavor UA5 > Jb3 at 16bit, then the 660 is an upgrade.  UNLESS you like the Wmod sound w/your mics and have fallen into perfect synergy. 

the 660 is to dye for.

Yeah I didn't mean for it to sound like there was a problem with the 660. It is the battery size, I just didn't think of that when I was using them.

Nick I must agree the sound is awesome. I have used my AKG and my Neumanns with great results. Still haven't tried the mbhos, might try them at SKB on the 30th.